Shoe-sewing machine.



H. A. BALLA'RD.

SHOESEWING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED APR, 1910.

Patnted Nov. 24, 1914.

3 SHBETS--SHBET 1.

H.A.BALLA RD. SHOE SEWING MACHINE.

APPLYIGATION FILED APR.1,1910.

H. A. BALLARD.

SHOE SEWING MACHINE. APPLII'IATION FILED APR. 1, 1910.

1,118,524, Patented Nov. 24, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

ED i

A. BAn Ami, or nosron, missaounsm'rs, AssIGNon r0 THE BoYLs'roN MANUFACTURING COMPANY, ocsotrrn :eos'ron, massacnnsncprs, a cosmonaanon-SEWING Manama.

Specification of'Letters Patent.

Patented Nov.'24, 1914 Application filed April .1, 1910. Serial 552,907.

To all whomit may concern:

Be it known that I, Hanan: A. BALLARD, it citizen of the United States, and a resident of Boston, in the couny of Suffolk and 'Stateoi Massachusetts, have invented certain new, and useful Improvements in Shoe .Se'win 'Maohines, of, which the following is designed to employ a needle and thread of this type.-

The present invention embodies mechanismoi improved construction adapted to "he used instead'oi' certain mechanism eontainedin my oil-pending application. Serial No, 493,208, filed April 30, 190). in said application is illustrated a welt guldc; and

oscillatory carrier therefor. said carrier beingso monnted as to move the welt guide in an are about the axis oi" the needle, and of equal radius. In said application, the mechanism for actuating the wclt guide carrier includes friction devices whereby the carrier is locked in operative position, re-

a' ainst the tensionof ,a spring. and

ing and retracting heingefiectcd solely by means of friction. Another .part of said application includes a work rest, a spring ad vanoing the work rest toward the work, and friction mechanism similar to that of the welt guide mechanism for locking the work flrest in' opcrative position. The present invention is similar in general respects to that of said co-pcnding application, but it dilfers inthe following respects lhe oscillatory 4 carrierin the present invention is positively retracted; "The oscillatory carrier and the work-.rest 'are locked-in operative positions by separate -fr ction devices under the con trol of a single spring. The carrier and i work rest are unlocked by one andthe same mo'ven'ien't of asinglejlever. The same 1ever "serves to unlock and retract the can rir ivhether I the shaft is driven forward or backward; y v

- The oscillatorycarrier is actuated: and locked according to thc'present' invention in the following, manner: Aspring is provided foradvancing the carrier toward the work; the ll'lClliOIl locking device is operated to loolcthe carrier in operative positionrand the lever by which the carrier is positivcly rctracted is also arranged to unlock the locking device immediately prior to retraction of the carrier, and to hold the lock ng device in released position until the carrier is permitted to return to operative posit on. i

Another feature of the present invention is a work-en g'agin; member which may he attached to said oscillatory carrier when it is desired to use the machirfc for sewing turned work, or any work other than the S(3\\'Hl{,f oi a welt. The member 'which may he herebysuhstitutcdfor the welt guide actuated .in the same manner as a welt guide. and is likewise adapted to engage the work near the needle and in the line'of the needle and on the same side of the work as the needle. Said member includes a relalively rigid member and a pointcd'plunger mountedtherein and provided with a spring or other cushioning device whereby-it may to 'lfll't'lll back into its supporting member.

The purpose of Va work-engaging memberor' tlus character is to engage the work and remain stationary during the operation of the stitclnl'orming mechanism for the pun pose of holding the work in fixed relation with the frame of the machine, and to therehv insure uniformity of the stitches and consequentlya tine grade of work. The engagement of this member is initially yielding and then supplemented by further engagement which is likewise yielding, but

which is under increased tension. The yielding engagement finally becomes positive, when the carrier for supporting the men'iher is locked as previously stated.

The improvement in construction em hodied in the present invention is illustrated upon the accompanying drawings, and described in the following specification.

()n the dra\vings.---l*"igure 1 represents a left side elevation of the head of a chain stitch shoe sewing machine of which ,a por 'tion is broken out in order to expose interior mechanism.- Fig. "2 represents a rear elevation of a port on 0t the'mechanism tor-operating tie oscillatory carrier and the work rest. Fig. 3 represents a horiacontal'scction on line -33 of. Fig.2. Fig. 4

represents an elevation ot'one end of the oscillatory carrier and one of its supporting arms. Fig. 5 represents a section on line 55 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 represents a section on line 66 of Fig. 3. Fig. 7 represents a section on line 77 of Fig. 1. Fig. 8 represents an elevation of a device adapted to be mounted on said oscillatory carrier for engaging the work. Fig. 9 represents a top plan view thereof in which a portion is broken away to expose the interior. Figs. 10, 11, and 12 represent side elevations of various levers for operating the oscillatory carrier. Fig. 13 represents a section on line 1.18 of Fig. 6. Fig. 14 is a horizontal section of the thread tension devices. Fig. 15 represents a vertical section showing spring tension mechanism for projecting the work rest toward the work.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts wherever they occur.

Before describing the new features of the present invention, it will be necessary to describe in a general way the machine to which the present invention relates.

Referring first to Fig. 1,15 represents the frame or head in which the several in strumentalities of a shoe-sewing machine are mounted. The head provides bearings for a prime power shaft 16 which, when driven forward, revolves in the direction indicated by the arrow and upon which are mounted the various cams for transmitting motion. 17 represents the needle which is of the hooked, oscillatory type, and which is mounted to oscillate upon a stud 18. 19 represents a work-rest against which a shoe-r0 may be held during the sewing operation. The work-rest is in the form of a bar and is mounted in guides 20, 20 in which it is longitudinally movable. The rear of the work-rest is provided with a gear rack 21 which internieshes with a pinion hereinafter described, said pinion being subject to spring tension which normally tends to project the work-rest toward the work. 22 represents a carrier which is mounted upon a pair of swinging arms 23, 24, said arms being pivotally mounted upon the head at 25 and 37. The radius of the arms 23 and 2 is equal to the radius of the needle 17 and the arms are connected to the carrier in parallel relation with each other, whereby they are adapted to carry-the carrier bodily through an arc whose radius is equal to the radius of the needle.

The work-engaging member forming a ,part of the present invention is shown by isadapted to clamp the socket member to the end of the carrier. The mounting for the member 27 is such that its'wo'rk-engaging portion maybe 'set to engage the work in the line of the stitches. 31 represents a socket or chamber formed in the member 27, said socket extending longitudinally thereof, and being larger at the rear end than at the forward end. 32 represents a plunger having a head The plunger is inserted in the socket so that the small end may project beyond the extremity of the socket member and so that the head occupies the larger part-of the socket. A spring compressed between the head 33 and the screw plug exerts its tension to project the plunger toward the work so that the,

point thereof may engage the same. The plunger and the member 27 are so constructecLand arranged .as to cause the workengaging point to occupy a position as far from the axis of the stud 18 as the point of the needle. The point of the member is therefore adapted to move in an are not only of the same radius as the needle, but concentric therewith. A spring 36 is connected to some part of the carrier 22, such as the pivot 26, so as to exert itstension to move the carrier toward the work. The tension of the spring is applied continuously and the carrier may be retracted against the tension of the spring by means hereinafter described. The forward end of the member 27 is preferably beveled,'as clearly shown by Figs. 8 and 9, whereby it is given a blunt chisel-like end. This end is adapted to engage the pulled-over portion of the upper as shown by Fig. 8, and press the upper snugly into the angle formed by the feather and shoulder of an insole, Fig. 8 showing the upper thus pressed into the angle. The thrust of the member 27 is sustained by the channel guide 105 hereinafter described. The spring 3% by which the plunger 82 is projected permits the pointed plunger to yield relatively to the member 27, and this yielding of the plunger is wholly independent of yielding pressure by which the mem- .s brought to bear against the upper.

her :21 This permits the use of a relatively heavy spring for forcing the member 27 against the upper, and the use of a relatively light spring for projecting the plunger 32.- The plunger is arranged to engage the upper in the aforesaid angle, theshouldcr of the insole bracing the upturned edge hi the upper so that the pointed plunger may have the desired piercing effect. 1

37 represents a rock-shaft which forms the pivot of thercar arm The arm is pinned or otherwise aflixed to the rock-shaft so that the oscillation of the shaft may be imparted to the carrier. The rock-shaft is mounted in bearings 38, as shown by Figs. 2 and 3, and is provided with a drum 39 1 Manama sleeve 40 arranged between the two wings. The drum is pinned ori'otherwi'se to the rock-shaft but the"s1ee,ve'is by a lever, hereinafter described, wherebythe drum and. rockshaftmay be ositively 3 6, lnlthis way, the carrier 22 is positively I retracted. i v

one end of the sleeve su is formed with a pinion 4B whichinterrrieshes with the rack 0 occupied by a coilspring 46 by which ten:

- sion is exerted upon the sleeve for projecting the worle rest toward the work.

, Tlhejadjacent facesof the drums 39 and are formed with concentric grooves 47 and H5 A8 and said grooves are occupied by similar split rings 49.211143 50 (see Fig. (5). The ends elf thesplit rings are slightly separated and thespace between them isoccupled by studs 5]., 553 of squareitorrnation, said studs being formed respectively nponlevers 53 and 54. The levers53 and, frlare subjected to spring tcni-sion which tends to turn them about the. centers of the studs 5T-Ztlltl 52, and to there? by release the rings 49 and 50 so tli'atthey a nmy in turn release the annularoutcrwalls oi? the groovesif' and a8. Theflo ckin'g levers and 5% becomelocked with the drums through the medium of the friction rings as hereinafter explained.- The free ends of the levers are formedwith concentric slots 55 which are occupied by a. pin 56 projecting from the head I5. Thepin '56 limits the releasing movement of the lovers 53 and and serves to prevent turning of the drums when the rings are expanded against the drums. in the present embodiment of the invention, one spring '57 serves to rcleaseboth of the lev,ers53.and-5 l, and

the arrangement thcroforis shown by F 18', inwhich 58 represents ar'ing or; oke

j connected to one end of the spring'nnd' av? ing' ends projecting respectively? into apertin-es formed 111 the two levers. The 111* serted ends of the ring. 58 are loose in the at apertures and are thereforendapted toper-' vInit slight movement ofjo'nc lever relatively to theother. meanwhile applying'tension to I The meansfor locking'the friction devices 65 ed upbn'a-stndJshaft. 60 whichvis atfixedzins The drum is oscillated against theten'sion of t we spring hearings 61 the head15, (see Fig. 2).

The free end ofthe lever 59 is formed with a slot '62 which is concentric to the-,pivot-GO.

Referring now to Fig, 5, 63 r'presentsa stud which iscylindricai at oneend, and which is screw threaded at the other. The intermediate portion 64 of the stud is square and is adapted to fit in the slot (32, and to be prevented from turnin therein. Aafiange 65 is formed on thestud between the square portion 13-1 and the cylindrical end, and by means of said flange anda nut'66 arranged upon the screw threaded end,-the stud may be clamped at any desired position in the end of the lever 59. The cylindrical end of v the stud carries a sleeve 67 which is loosely vers 53 and 54 res ectivcly, and for'this" reason, the outere'ges of said levers are beveled, as indicated at 70 and 71, in 'Figs. (Sand :13. The sleeve is free to revolveand to slide longitudinally upon its supporting find, and it is there y adapted. to engage the two levers 53-and 54 with equal'pressu're, and at the same time to move .en'dw-ise in one direction'or the other in order to accoma modate. itself'to lmequal ositions ofthelocking levers. It is there ore assured that the sleeve may expand the-locking rings with equal force against their respective drums.

.The lever 59 is provided with a shoulder 72 which is adapted to be engaged by the" face 73 0f afcam lever. 74-. and lover is loosely'mounted upon the studshaft 69 and has an arm 7 Fiat the free',end of which is a cam rolli'l'fiwwhich occupies the groove?! in a cam disk 78 affixed upon theshaft, 16. y

'54, and the force is greater'than that 'of the 6 expansion of the locking'rings notwithstnnding'the opposing tension of the spring 57 when it is not positivelyprevented from doing so. T he cam groove 77, however, is

spring 57. The spring 80, therefore, effects so formed as to move'the "face 73 tonnd from the 'shoulder 72, andby means ,of'said face and the cam lever, the sleeve 67 ismoved out-of engagement with the locking levers'i'iiland ohtherehy permittingn plication of the tens'ion'of the spring 57 or 'un locking the/friction drums. Although the assumed that the'work f'is' fed' stepQby-step in the usual manners The purpose'of-prm viding the Wand the leveni'lfov unlbck-i 12:- present drawings do not illustrate nrdetail any means for feeding thework, it may be? ing the friction drums is to release the workrest and the carrier 22 prior to the feeding movement of the work. The lever 59 not only effects the locking and controls the unlocking described, but it positively retracts the carrier while the same is unlocked. The retracting movement is imparted to the drum 39 by a plate 81 aiiixed upon the lever 59, as shown by Figs. 1 and 7. The plate is adapted to engage the roll 42 mounted upon the arm d1 of the drum 39, and to oscillate the drum and thereby oscillate the rockshaft 37, and so retract the carrier. The carrier is thus retracted and held in retracted against the roll 12. lVhen the plate is again moved to the rear to release the roll 12, the.

carrier is moved forward by its spring 36. The plunger 32 immediately engages the work and the drum 39 is again locked by its friction devices under the control of the lever 59.

The operations thus far described occur when the shaft 16 is driven in the direction of the arrow, that is, when the machine is operated for sewing. It is desirable to re lease the work-rest 19 and to retract the carrier at the conclusion of a sewing operation in order to facilitate the removal of the work. It is also desirable at this time to release the thread which is used in sewing, and to retract the needle from the work so that there will be no obstacle in the way of removing the work prior to severing the thread. These desirable features are all herein embodied, but not in the same manner as they are carried out by the machine forming the subject matter of said copending application. For the purpose of describing the manner in which the tension upon the thread is released, it will be necessary to first rehearse the description of the thread tension mechanism.

Figs. 1 and 5 show a roll 82 which engages the thread between the supply and the needle. The thread which is indicated at 83 in Fig. 1, may begiven a few turns around the roll 82, and then led through various guiding devices which conduct it to a looper 84. The convolutions of thread about the roll 82 serve to rotate the roll when the thread is drawn toward the needle and the roll is subjected to suitable tension for resisting rotation whereby the desired degree of tension may be imposed upon the thread. The roll is loosely mounted upon a rod 85, of which one end is aiiixed in a bracket 86, and of which the other end is screw threaded and provided with a nut 87. The thread roll is mounted between the bracket and the nut, and is subjected to the tension of a spring 88. A plate 89 is loosely mounted upon the rod and is interposed between the spring and the hub 90 of the thread roll. A friction disk 91 is placed upon the rod between the other end of the thread roll and the bracket 80, and the thread roll is thus clamped between the friction disk and the. plate 89 when the tension of the spring 88 is applied to the hub 90.' The plate 89 is provided with a hub upon which are formed crown teeth 92 which are adapt ed to cooperate with similar teeth 93 formed upon the rod 85. The teeth are so formed that a slight oscillation of the plate relatively to the rod causes the cooperative teeth to impart endwise movement to the plate and thus remove the tension of the spring 88 from the thread roll. For the purpose of oscillating the plate to thus relieve the thread roll, the plate is formed with a notch 94: which is occupied by a pin 95 carried by an arm 96 of a lever 97. The lever 97 is loosely mounted upon the stud shaft 60 and carries at its free end a pawl 98 which is adapted to cooperate with a tooth or shoulder 99 formed upon the hub of the cam disk 78. A spring 100 is connected to the pawl so as to hold the free end of the pawl against the periphery of said hub, and to also move the lever 97 in one direction. 101 represents a nose formed upon the lever 97 for the purpose of engaging a portion of the head 15 and thus limit- 1 mg movement of the lever due to the tension of the spring 100. The shoulder 99 is so formed as to have no effect upon the lever 97 when the shaft 16 is driven forward in the direction of the arrow, but it is adapted to be actuated when the shaft is reversed, as hereinafter explained. 1

The arm 96 is formed with a .face 102 which is adapted to engage a face 101 of the lever 59 with the same effect as that pro duced by the face T8 in engaging the shoulder 72 of the arm 59.

The releasing of the work-rest 19, the unlocking and retracting of the carrier 22, and the releasing of the thread roll 82 are offected at the completion of a sewing op ration in the following manner :The shaft 16, which is presumably provided with a hand wheel not shown, may be given a slight rotation in the reverse direction by means of the hand wheel. The degree of reverse rotation required is such as to cause the shoulder 99 to engage the pawl 98 and move the pawl into engagement with a fixed stop 103. The pawl in being thus retracted oscillates the lever 97 in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1. The results obtained by manually reversing the driving shaft are the releasing of the thread tension, the unlocking of the work-rest, the unlocking of the oscillatory carrier, and the positive retrac ion of the carrier. The needle actuating mechanism not shown is so related to the herein described parts of the machine as to be retracted to the position shown by Fig. 1 when the shaft is reversed. The work is therefore entirely freed and the oscillatory carrier 22.

'si-on.

. stitchjforming mechanism, a Work engaging ahember, an oscillatory carrier therefor'hav- LIIBNM In conclusion, ,it may be stated that the channel guide which is indicated at 105, is

laterally movable and constitutes one ele'- ment of the work-feedingmeans. The chan' nel guide is also movable to a limited degree about the stud 18 upon which it is-mounted,

and it is thechannel guide which supports the work against the pressure of the workengagmg members 27 and '32 mounted upon the nature of my Having thus explained invention and described a way of construct- 'ing andjusing the same, although without attempting to set forth all of the forms in I which it may be made or all of the modesof ts use, what I claim is -1. A shoe sewing machine comprising stitch-forming mechanism, a'power shaft,

an oscillatory carrier having a parallel mo-- tlon for supportinga' toolcsuch'as a welt guide or back gage, a thread tension, and

means actuated'by said power shaft when driven forwardly for loeking, releasing and positivelyretracting said carr er, and when said, power sh'aftis reversed, for-releasing and positively retracting saidv carrier and for releasing said tension.

2. A shoe sewing machine comprising stitch forming mechanism, a power shaft,

an oscillatory carrier having a parallel motlonfor supporting a tool such as a welt gulde or back gage, means for frictloually locking said carr er, a reciprocatory memvber for operating and releasing said loclun means for positively retracting sai carrier, means actuated by said shaft when rotated forwardly for actuat ng said rec1pa rocatory member,"a thread tension, and

meansa'ctnated by said shaft when rotated .reversely for actuating said reciprocatory member and foureleasing said thread ten- 3. A shoe sewing machine comprising nism,'arrd-m'ean s adapted to be moved'by. said driven" member to retract said QZIITLGD 'andwork-engaging member.

4. shoe sewing machine comprising stitch forming mechanisnna IECIPI'OCiLfiOI'Y carrier, a: work-engaging member mounted .onsaid' carrier sons to engage the inseam of the work, means for locking the carrier was to'hold said work-engaging member against/the work during operation of the stitchforming mechanism, means for ne tracting sa d carrier, and a spring-tension,

435 member. carried byand movable relatively to said week-engaging ember, said spring tension member-having a point adapted to prick the work to prevent movement thereof.

5. In a shoe scwing machine,stit ch formmg mechamsm' and operating means therefor, two work-engagmg members movable movable independently 0 each other, a reci tproeatory driven member for moving both 0 said operating members at once to operate both locking means, and means inter-' posed between said dri'venmembe'r and said operating members for transmitting operatmg movement and for equalizing the force by it transmitted to said operating members,

G. A shoe sewing mac ine -comprising stitch-formingmechanism includ ng -a- -l0cking"means,having' o crating members curved oscillatoryneedle, an upper-engag ing member forpressing the upper into the angle formedby the feather and shoulder of an insole, a carrierfor said member whereby the work-engaging portion of said member is caused to traverse an arc concen 'tric to the axis ofsaidfneedleyaspring for forcing said carrier toward the shoe, a member for engagingthe insole 1n the channel to brace the shoe against the forwardthrust of said upper-engaging member, said upper-engagmg memberhavmg a socket whose mouth is atthe upper-engaging end; thereof, a plunger movably arranged 1n sald socket and having a pointedend for piercing the upper, and a spring for forcing said plum ger-toward the shoe. r

7, In a shoe-sewing machine, a work-engaging member arranged to bear against the outer side of thestitch-receiving flange o'f'theu pper, means arranged to move said member to and from the work, and a supplemental work-engaging member carried by the first-mentionedmember and arranged to tuck the upper into the angle formed by the shoulde" and feather. of the insole, said supplemental memher'being arranged to vield relatively to the first-mentioned member.

8, Tn a shoe sewing machine, a work-en'- gaging member having a beveled end ar-. ranged .to prrssthe upper into the angle formedrbv the feather and shoulder ofan insole, said member having a slmrp-p'ointed spur arrangedto pierce the upper in said angle to steady the shoe. v i

9. In a shoe sewing machine, a' work-engaging member having a beveledend for.

presslng'the upper into the angle formed by the feather andshoulder of an insole,.

said member having asocket the mouth of which s atsaid beveled end, a plungermovably arranged in said socket and having a pointed end protruding therefrom for piercing the upper to steady the shoe, and a spring for pressing said plunger against the shoe.

10. In a shoe sewing machine, a Workengaging member having a beveled end for pressing the upper into the angle formed by the feather and shoulder of an insole, means for carrying said member toward and from the Work, said member having a socket whose mouth is at said beveled end, a plunger Inovably arranged in said socket and.

having a pointed end protruding therefrom for engaging the upper in said angle, and a spring for pressing saidplunger toward the shoe.

11. In a shoe sewing machine, a workengaging member having a: beveled end for pressing the upper into the angle formed by the feather and shoulder of an insole, a carrier for said member, a spring for causing said carrier to press said member against the shoe with yielding force, said member having a socket Whose mouth is at said beveled end, a plunger movably arranged in said socket and having a pointed end for engaging the upper in said angle, and a spring for projecting said plunger toward the shoe.

12. In a shoe-sewing machine, a workengaging member arranged to tuck the upper into the angle formed by the shoulder and feather of the insole, means arranged to move said member to and from the Work, and a supplemental Work-engaging member carried by the first-mentioned member and arranged to tuck the upper into said angle, said supplemental member being arranged to yield relatively to the first-mentioned member.

In testimony whereof l have affixed my signature, in presence of two Witnesses.

HARRIE A. BALLARD.

Witnesses:

P. W. PEzzEr'rI, H. L ALLEN. 

